Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Home Page
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—the Psychiatrist's Billing Code Bible
The DSM IV (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, volume 4) is the latest and current version of the standard handbook of "mental illnesses" as determined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). What comes into question with this manual is the manner and method by which these supposed mental illnesses are determined and by whom. Using the DSM IV, a psychiatrist need only label the patient with a "mental disorder", prescribe him a drug and bill the patient's insurance or Medicaid. The psychiatrist with the DSM in hand can try various labels on the patient as if they were different sizes of apparel until he finds one that either fits the patient's symptoms or comes close enough to allow him to bill the patient's insurance. The question is: Do any of these "disorders" or "mental illnesses" actually exist? Does the DSM have any relationship to a patient's actual condition or is it a convenient and simplistic method of compartmentalizing symptoms without actually working to isolate the true cause of the patient's real problems. Read the Full Article
